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International Journal of Social Psychiatry
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Beliefs About Schizophrenia and Its Treatment in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Viren Swami

Department of Psychology, University of Westminster, London, UK, virenswami{at}hotmail.com

Adrian Furnham

Department of Psychology, University College London, London, UK

Kumaraswami Kannan

Hospital Mesra Bukit Padang, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Dhachayani Sinniah

Jabatan Psikiatri, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Background: Lay beliefs about schizophrenia have been extensively studied in cross-cultural settings, but research on ethnic differences are currently lacking. Aims: This study examined beliefs about the manifestations, causes and cures of schizophrenia in a multi-ethnic sample from Malaysia.

Methods: In this study, 561 Malay, Chinese and Kadazan-Dusun participants rated 72 statements about schizophrenia on a 7-point scale.

Results: Results showed that Malaysians tended to favour social-environmental explanations for schizophrenia. There were also ethnic and sex differences in these results. Specifically, Malay participants more strongly agreed that schizophrenia has a social cause, that treatment should affect changes at a societal level, that schizophrenic behaviour is sinful and that mental hospitals do not provide effective treatments.

Conclusions: Lay beliefs about schizophrenia may serve different functions for different ethno-cultural groups, which have an influence on help-seeking behaviour.

Key Words: culture • lay beliefs • Malaysia • schizophrenia

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, Vol. 54, No. 2, 164-179 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0020764007084665
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